Reeling apparatus



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 M. MORGAN REELING APPARATUS Feb. 9, 1960 Filed June 18,1956 INVENTOR. myles morga'n H 01' ey United States Patent REELINGAPPARATUS Myles Morgan, Worcester, Mass., asslgnor to MorganQonst'ruction Company, Worcester, Mass.,a corporation of MassachusettsApplication June 18, 1956, Serial No. 591,868

'3 Claims. -(Cl.'266-'6) This. invention relates to a reeling apparatusand more particularly to a laying reel apparatus for coiling steel rodas it leaves the last stand of a rolling mill. I

In the production of steel rod, it is theusual practice to form the rodinto coils after it leaves the rolling mill in order that it may behandled more easily. It is desirablethat the rod'be cooled rapidly afterit leaves the rolling mill to minimize the formation of scale on the rodsurface, which represents a loss of metal and which has to be removedsubsequently by a costly acid treatment. impart beneficial metallurgicaland mechanical properties to the rod. Although the rod is usually passedthrough water boxes betweenthe mill and the reel, the time in which itresidesin the boxes and iscooled thereby 18 very short. Furthermore, thegradual increasesin rollingspeed that have taken place from time to timehave made this method of cooling less and less effective. If cooling isnot begun until after the coil leaves the red, the rod has the entirereeling time in which to deteriorate. It has been suggested in thepatents to Morgan Nos. 2,621,914 and.2,673,820 that the cooling of therod take placein the reel itself. These patents show one way in whichthis maybe accomplished in a laying reel by admitting air into a centraldrum and causing it to be reversed at the upper part of the reel and totravel downwardly through the coil. Although this construction operatesvery well, there are situations in whichvit is not adequate. Onoccasion, it is necessary to provide a larger flow of cooling air and toprovide against stratification of flow of air which would result inuneven cooling. These and other ditficulties experienced withprior artdevices have been obviated by the present invention in a novel manner.

It is therefore anoutstanding object of the invention to provide areeling apparatus having adequate facilities for the cooling of hotmetal rod.

.Another object ofthis invention is the provision of a laying.reelhaving aprovision for the admission of cooling air at the points ofentrance of the hot metal rod into the reel as wellfas at the bottom.

A still-further object of the invention is the provision of a layingreel having means for the air cooling of hot metalrods, whichmeansassures an even flow of air over all strands of rod.

,Another object of the invention is'the provision of means for coolingthelaying cone of a laying reel ,so that it more readily absorbs heatfrom the hot metal, rod that it handles.

-With these :andother objects in view, as will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art, the invention resides in the eombinationof partsset'forth in the specification and covered by the claims appendedhereto. I

Referring 'to the drawingsillustrating one embodiment of .the inventionand in which like reference numerals indicate. similar pa 1 J"Tigtii'e'l is an elevational viewo'f a reeling apparatus Cooling at anappropriately rapid rate also can constructed according to the teachingsof the present invention, and

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the apparatus.

Referring-to Figure 1, wherein is best shown the general features of theinvention, .the reeling apparatus, designated generally by .thereference numeral 10, is arranged to form hot metal rod into annularbundles and to discharge such bundles ontoa conveyorll of wellknownconstruction. This conveyor comprises .a horizontal top plate 12 havinglongitudinally-extending parallel slots in its upper surface. Parallelendless chains travel beneath the slots and carry dogs 16 which projectupwardly through the slots. The dogs .on the respective chains arearranged in laterally-aligned pairs, so that each pair of dogs mayengage an annular rod bundle B .and push it alongthe plate 12.

The particular reel 10 illustrated is of the general type known in theart as-a laying reel, such reels being arranged to receive a,longitudinally-traveling hot metal rod and to bend the rod into aseries of superimposed and loosely-intermixed, stationary,generally-circular convolutions which form an annular bundle. This reelcomprises a hollow base structure 18 located at one side of the conveyor10 and supporting a horizontal plate 19, the top of this plate beingsubstantially flush with the top of the conveyor plate 12. Above theplate 19 there are provided two upright wall members 20 and 21, eachcurved horizontally in substantially a semi-circular arc, the twomembers jointly forming a complete cylindrical wall. The rear wallmember 20.is suitably fastened in a fixed position to the plate 19therebeneath, whereas the front wall member 21 forms a .gate which maybe raised above the plate 19, as will be explained hereinafter, topermit discharge of a completed rod bundle from the reel to theconveyor.

Referring to Figure 2, a hollow cylindrical drum 23 is mounted withinthe cylindrical wall formed by the members 20 and 21 and is coaxialtherewith, the drum being considerably'smaller in diameter than the saidwall to provide an annular trough 24 therebetween. The trough has aportion of the plate 19 as its bottom wall. The plate 19 is formed witha central circular opening 26 very slightly exceeding the drum 23 indiameter so thatthe drum may be drawn downwardly therethrough to permitdischarge of a rod bundle, as will be described hereinafter. The drum isprovided at its upper end with a horizontal wall 27 having openings 28extending therethrough.

On top of the wall member 20 there is mounted a frusto-conical cap orclosure 30 which in turn supports a gear box 31 from which the lower endof a vertical rotatable shaft 32 extends downwardly toward the drum 23and coaxial therewith.- The gear box is of the usual constructionemployed .in laying reels and it contains suitable bevel gearingconnecting an electric motor 34 to the shaft 32 to drve the same. Theusual revolvable laying cone 35 is secured to the lower end of the shaft32 bysuitable means-and the usual vertical guide pipe 37 enters the topof the guide box 31in alignment with the shaft 32. These parts are soconstructed and arranged,

' in accordance with well-known practice, that a hot metal rod maytraveldownwardly through the pipe 37 and the gear box 31, the laying cone 35will lay the rod in the annular trough 24 in the form of superimposed,generally-eircular convolutons. These convolutons wll be so looselyintermingled as to provide a permeable, annular bundle.

The invention includes means to bring about a flow of relatively coolair through the bundle while it is being formed, thereby cooling thebundle with comparative rapidity and avoiding excessive scale formationon'the rod. "For this purpose the hollow "base structure 1813 nicatesdirectly with the open lower end of the drum 23, and further to providean annular chamber 40 located beneath the plate 19 and communicatingwith openiii'gs '25 therein. A'fan, not showm'isarranged'to blow airthrough a duct 42 leading to an opening44 in'one' wall of the plenum'chamber 39, this duct having a damp'er4Stherein. =A-second duct 46 isconnected-to an opening 47 in one wall ofthe annular chamber 40. f Inorder;to-permit stripping" of a completed bundle from the reel,mechanism is provided to lower the drum 23' to bring its upper endsubstantially flush with the-surrounding plate 19. For this purpose asubstantially horizontal 'bar 49-exte'nds across the'lower end of thedrum;

cranks. The actuator is connected to the "shaft 63 for v,its'rotationthrough a link 62. The gear box is also con- 25 nectedthrough a strut 84 to one end of anarm 83. The arm is pivotally mountedin its intermediate portion to the fixed wall member 20 and its otherend is fastened to th'emovable wall member 21 for the vertical movementthereof. The actuator 59 is also connected through a turnbuckle 61 to anarm 89 leading to a push-01f mechanism 87.

The'closure 30 is provided with a horizontal entrance extension 71 ofgenerally rectangular cross-section show ing an opening 72 to which isconnected one end of an air duct 73. The other end of this duct issupplied with air by a fan, not shown; The opening 72 and the extension71 have a height almost equal to that of the closure 30' and a widthequal to the width of the lower endof the closure. The closure and itsextension are provided with suitable transition surfaces to allow forthe differences in their shapes. With the exception of the portionsubtended by the extension 71, the inner surface of the closure 30 isconical and lies generally parallel to the surface of the laying cone35. At the same time, it will be understood that rod entering the reelin the pipe 37 emerges in a groove, not shown, on the surface of thelaying cone and is exposed to air originating in the extension 71. Attheir lower ends, the wall members 20 and 21 are provided with sidechambers 74 and 75 which combine, when themovable wall member is inlowered position, to form an annular chamber 76 which overlies theopenings in the plate 19. Ribs 77 shaped frequently around the reelextend entirely across the crosssection of the chamber and prevent thestrands of rod I from being thrown outwardly into the chamber bycentrifugal force.

The operation of the invention will be readily understood in view of theabove description. With the drum 23 raised and the movable wall member21" lowered, the reel 10 will be in condition to receive a hot metal rodwhich will travel downwardly through the pipe 37. The laying cone 35will lay the rod in generally circular superimposed convolutions withinthe trough 24 to form an annular bundle. ly cool air will be blownthrough the duct 42 into the chamber 39, thence upwardly through thedrum 23 and the openings 28 in its upper wall 27, then upwardly andradially outwardly. At the same time, air enters through the duct 73 andthe extension 71. The air flows around the laying cone 35 in the narrowspace between the cone and the conical inner surface of the closurewhile in this space, the air comes into intimate contact with the hotrod which has just entered the reel and which overlies the surface ofthe laying cone. Then,

'the air originating in the duct 73 passes the narrow With the damper 45open, relativeopening between the bottom edge of the cone and thegenerally cylindrical surfaces of the wall members 20 and 21; since thehot rod must pass through this space as it leaves the laying cone, it issubjected to particularly effective cooling at that point. This air alsomaintains the laying cone itself in a relatively cool condition, so thatfurther heat is absorbed-from the rod by the cone itself. The air fromthe drum passes over the inner surface of the laying cone,further-cooling it and, thus, providing indirectly for cooling of therod, and then it passes; outwardly of-the cone. It leavesthe conenotonly through the narrow annular space between the upper corner. of thedrum and the lower inner surface of the layingcone, but also throughholes'provided in the'cone. Both sources of air combine, and passdownwardly through the annular bundle lying in the trough 24, and inthis zone the flow of air at high velocity between the strands of rodproduces very effective cooling- After passing throughthe main body' ofcoiled 'wire, the air mixture passes radially'outwardly'into the annular9hamber 76, thence downwardly through the apertures 25in the plate 19into the annular chamber 40. The air leaves the chamber 40v through theduct 46.

Bycooling the rod promptly and rapidly ,while itis being formed into abundle, the invention greatly reduces scale formation on the rod; henceless acid is required for cleaning the bundles, and the loss inweight'of the bundle is less. In the case of high carbon steel,decai'bur'ization is avoided and the metallurgical and mechanicalproperties are-improved. For instance, in the manufacture of high carbonwire for wire rope, and similar applications, it has been found possibleto eliminate the heat treating process known-as patenting to obtain thedesired physical properties prior to drawing. Since the bundles reachthe conveyor 11 at a lower temperature, they may be transferredsoon'thereafter'to the usual hook carrier without danger of distortion,hence the conveyor may be appreciably shorter than would otherwise benecessary, since less cooling time is required.

- It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form andconstruction of the invention without departing from the material spiritthereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to theexact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to includeallsuch as properly come within the scope claimed. The invention havingbeen thus described, what is claimed as new and desired to secure byLetters Patent is: 1'. Apparatus for treating a hot metal rod comprisinga substantially cylindrical wall with its axis upright, a drum coaxialwith the wall and somewhat smaller in diameter, a generally conicalclosure above the cylindrical wallt'o close the space surrounded by saidwall, an annular chain ber surrounding the lower portion of thecylindrical wall and opening into the space between the said wall andthe drum, a horizontal plate extending between the cylindrical wall andthe drum and spaced downwardly from the top of the drum, the platehaving perforations in the portion which underlies the annular chamber,a rotatable laying cone coaxial with the drum and located directlyabovethe same, the lower edge of the cone lying closely adjacent to thecylindrical wall, the said annular chamber being coextensive with aportion of the drum lying above the said plate, the laying cone beingarranged to bend the rod into a series of generally circularconvolutions which are superimposed and loosely intermingled to form apermeable annular bundle within the annular space defined .by thecylindrical wall and the drum, and means .to introduce a stream of airbetween the closure and the laying,zcone,.so that the air flows over thesurface of the laying coneand, the hot metal rod carried thereby, passesdownwardly: between the lower edge of the cone and the cylindricalsurface, and then passes downwardly through the bundle and theperforated horizontal plate.

2. Apparatus for treatinga hot metal rod comprising drum coaxial withthe wall and somewhat smaller in diameter, a generally conical closureabove the cylindrical wall to close the space surrounded by said wall,an annular chamber surrounding the lower portion of the cylindrical walland opening into the space between the said wall and the drum, theopening into the space being interrupted at spaced intervals by ribs toprevent entrance of rod therein, a horizontal plate extending betweenthe drum and the outermost portion of the annular chamber and spaceddownwardly from the top of the drum, the plate having perforations inthe portion thereof which underlies the annular chamber, a rotatablelaying cone coaxial with the drum and located directly above the samewith its apex directed upwardly, the lower edge of the cone lyingclosely adjacent to the cylindrical wall, the said annular chamber beingcoextensive with a portion of the drum lying above the said plate, thelaying cone being arranged to bend the rod into a series of generallycircular convolutions which are superimposed and loosely intermingled toform a permeable annular bundle within the annular space defined by thecylindrical Wall and the drum, means to produce a stream of air whichflows upwardly through the drum and downwardly through the bundle andthe perforated horizontal plate while the bundle is being formed, and ahorizontal extension formed on the closure to introduce a stream of airbetween the closure and the laying cone, so that the air flows over thesurface of the laying cone and the hot metal rod carried thereby, passesdownwardly between the lower edge of the cone and the cylindricalsurface, mixes with the air from the drum before passing downwardlythrough the bundle and the perforated horizontal plate.

3. Apparatus for treating a hot metal rod comprising a substantiallycylindrical wall, a central member coaxial with the wall and somewhatsmaller in diameter, a closure above the cylindrical wall to close thespace surrounded by the said wall, an annular chamber surrounding an endportion of the cylindrical wall and opening into the space between thesaid wall and the member, a plate lying at a right angle to the axis ofthe cylindrical wall and extending between the cylindrical wall and themember, the plate being spaced axially from the end of the memberadjacent the closure, the plate having perforations in a portion whichlies within the annular chamber, a rotatable laying cone coaxial withthe central member and located adjacent one end thereof, the outer edgeof the cone lying closely adjacent to the cylindrical wall, the saidannular chamber being coextensive with a portion of the drum lying abovethe said plate, the laying cone being arranged to bend the rod into aseries of generally circular convolutions which are superimposed andloosely intermingled to form a permeable annular bundle within the spacedefined by the cylindrical wall and the member, and means to introduce astream of air between the closure and the laying cone, so that the airflows over the surface of the laying cone and the hot metal rod carriedthereby, and passes between the lower edge of the cone and thecylindrical surface before passing through the bundle and the perforatedhorizontal plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS937,551 Remmen Oct. 19, 1909 2,621,914 Morgan Dec. 16, 1952 2,673,820Morgan Mar. 30, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 3 1 G at Britain J ne 9. 1 2

